Equine foot care in the Galbreath Equine Center

Trey Green and Todd Adams are both farriers at The Ohio State University Galbreath Equine Center in Columbus, Ohio. They each have been shoeing horses for nearly 20 years. Todd has lived and worked as a farrier in Ohio all his life, and Trey lived in Colorado before coming to Ohio a number of years ago. While they may seem like the average horsemen, they are anything other than your typical farriers.

Both Todd and Trey are Certified Journeymen Farriers (CJF). This is highest level of certification issued through the American Farriers Association (AFA) and is endorsed by the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). The CJF certification is only granted after a set of rigorous exams. The written examination requires farriers to have in-depth knowledge of equine gaits and movements; blood circulation through the equine limb; and the anatomy and physiology of the bones, cartilage, joints, tendons, and ligaments in both front and hind limbs. Additionally, there is a practical examination that tests a farrier’s professional skills and abilities in trimming and shoeing a horse and making a shoe from scratch to fit a specified pattern.

While farriers' work is physically taxing and often stressful, one aspect that they particularly enjoy is getting to work with the veterinarians at Ohio State. They regularly trim horses that are under the care of veterinarians at the Galbreath Equine Center to try and work through different types of podiatry issues. “At Ohio State we have access to excellent radiographs, an array of treatment options, and the knowledge and opinions of many different veterinarians,” said Trey. “By combining our knowledge and their knowledge we can do what’s absolutely best for the horse and change what’s going on for the better.

Most of Todd and Trey’s time is spent trimming and shoeing horses in the Columbus area, however, as members of both the American Farrier’s Team and the World Championship Blacksmith’s Team they are often involved in national and international competitions, as well as offering clinics and demonstrations across the country. As if that wasn’t enough, both Todd and Trey have been included in the country’s Top Ten Farriers list for the last few years.

Both farriers attended the 9th Annual International Hoof-Care Summit in February. Dr James Belknap, professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, also attended the conference where he was inducted into the International Equine Veterinarians Hall of Fame. Please read more about Dr. Belknap’s award and accomplishments.